Let’s make it a New Year to remember.

NO New Years resolutions.

We all know them, we all hate them. And yet, most of us secretly still have them. With Christmas being officially over and us finally approaching the New Year tonight, you hear’em everywhere.. NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS. I know that some people think this whole new year, new me thing is absolute nonsense.
I personally love the idea of – 365 blank pages in a new book, waiting for us to be filled with new life. I also firmly believe that it’s never too late to start something new, to change, or even quit old habits. BUT, let’s be honest, the only thing that technically changes on January 1st, is the date. If YOU are not truly willing to make a true change in your life, 01.01.2018 will be just another number in the calendar. I mean, I don’t have a master plan for you now that you can simply follow to achieve whatever you want to achieve in 2018, but I’d like to tell you a bit about my point of view on New Year”s resolutions, or let’s rather say about motivation in general, about what works for me, what keeps me motivated and on track with my goals throughout the year and some personal experiences that I”ve made in my life.

I don’t typically write down any specific new years resolutions. I do like to create a clear vision for myself, for what I’d like the new year ahead to look like though… I believe that life is meant to be lived & enjoyed in the NOW. Planning is great it gives you a feeling of being organized, but more importantly than planning to me, is determination & motivation.

Even IF you have a perfectly well written plan for yourself… LIFE happens, and mostly not exactly the way you planned it. As annoying & frustrating it is, life sometimes has a funny way of testing and interrupting you and your goals. We get all hyped up in the beginning of the new year to finally achieve our goals, to finally approach that dream we’ve been holding onto since years. We try so hard achieving our goals, day in and day out. But the majority of the people quit after only a few days, weeks, months of trying. We get mad for not succeeding, we start blaming ourselves for another failure, eventually we quit & even stop trying. We stay in our comfort zone because everything else simply didn’t work. It’s a never ending circle of bad events, that in the end only leads us to self critisism, self doubt and living an unhappy, unfulfilled life…
So, the question is, WHY do we quit?! Why is it so hard for us to stick to our goals, to be determent to something that we wanted so bad in the beginning?!

To me it’s two things. First and foremost… – I believe, it all starts and ends in our head. We indeed are the product of all the choices that we have made and thoughts we have had up until this moment of our lifes. Big statement, I know. So let me just say that again: “WE indeed are the product of all the choices that we have made and thoughts we have had up until this moment of our lifes. So, in order to really change something in our lifes, no matter how small or big it is we want to achieve, something INWARDLY has to change first. Our mind and position towards a certain conviction has to truly change FIRST! WHATEVER it is why we talk ourselves out of our dreams and goals, – it’s entirely our own responsibility to make our dreams, whatever we desire to achieve, become reality. Whether if it’s to give up smoking in 2018, losing those 5 or 10 pounds, being a better parent, being a better version of yourself, or pursuing some kind of an artistic, athletic career – NO MATTER what it is… WE are the captain of our ship, we alone can adjust those sails and determine the direction.

And second… – Our WHY must be reasonable. Why are we doing it… Why do we want to achieve it…. For ourselves? To only please others?! FOR your mom, dad, boyfriend, husband…? KNOW your WHY!!! Let your why be big enough. Let your why be the fuel for your vehicle. The bigger our why is, the more driven we will be in achieving our goals.

Each and everyone of us has a certain desire, goal that we’d like to accomplish or achieve in life. We’ve all been given dreams and talents. The truth is WE alone have to decide what we want and take action. We have to work for it, every single day!!! Most of us just don’t want it bad enough, looking for excuses on every corner. Protecting our ego with the excuse of time. “Oh I’ll do it tomorrow“, “I’ll start Monday“… How many times did you say that to yourself? WHY not NOW. Why not giving every day all you’ve got… Who promised you that you would wake up tomorrow morning???! Tomorrow is never promised!!!
If you want something bad enough you make time, you put in the work, you make the effort, you go beyond, you push beyond your energy, no matter what the circumstances might be. It all starts with YOU and ends with YOU. YOU have to want it a 100% and you, only you have to put in the time, the sweat maybe even tears. But let me tell you, what’s on the other site of all this sacrifice... A life you can be proud of, a life YOU worked for, that no one else created but YOU and that you love living.

It’s funny you know, most people look at my life and usually call me lucky. LUCKY??? I don’t consider myself as lucky. I’d rather consider myself as smart, talented, very passionate, and I take advantage of the opportunities that come my way & I WORK REALLY, REALLY HARD.
If you’d only know how much sacrifice, time and sweat it took me to get to where I am today, to be the person who I always wanted to be, not for others but myself. Not only with what I achieved throughout my career, most importantly which person I became through my journey.. To live a life that I chose, – on my terms, that I love & enjoy living, with only the most sincere, loving, supportive & wonderful people in it. You wouldn’t call me lucky anymore, you’d call me a badass girlbosshaha. 😉 No but seriously, I want you to understand that I don’t come from a wealthy family, nor do I have some kind of an artistic backround, or the right contacts that would get my foot in the door of any kind of industry I entered, nor am I lucky… I have a heart filled with fire, a dream as big as the biggest mountain, an undeniable believe that everything is possible + an incredible work ethic.

It wasn’t always that way tho, I first had to understand the whole process myself. I grew up in a very small village with only 5000 people in it. I always knew my soul wanted more out of life, I wanted to experience the world, I knew I was born to create, to express my many talents that I have been given in this life through art. I wanted to give that fire inside of myself space to burn. I promised myself, I‘d rather die trying than not trying at all. Even if the whole world would turn their back on me (back then most people, even close friends, didn’t like the idea of me leaving my hometown, nor entering an industry that seemed impossible and out of reach). I realized pretty quickly, even though I had all these big visions and dreams, if I’m not gonna do something towards my dreams and goals, act on them, they only remain dreams. As much as I believe in fairytailes, nobody is gonna come on a white horse and get me, right?! So, I had to make a choice for myself, if I wanted my dreams to become reality, I had to work on myself, towards my goals – day in and day out. – GRADUALLY! It wasn’t an over night thing, it’s been determining my time & effort ever since. And trust me it’s been a crazy journey so far, I been through all the different stages in my life… Ups & downs, and that’s ok… because it shaped me to who I am today. I regret nothing and I would choose that road over and over again. I’ve experienced so many wonderful things that I never thought could happen to me, not even in my wildest dreams. I am so grateful for everything and I still have a long journey in front of me. But in the end, stepping outside of my comfort zone, fighting like a soldier in a war for what I want and for what I stand for in life, was the best desicion I ever made. It is what truly fullfills me. I am living my life on my terms, pursuing my dreams. So, what do we do when we have a dream/goal?! WE either work for it, or we regret it for the rest of our lifes. It is that simple.

YOU alone have to CREATE your dream life. I encourage you to give every day all you’ve got, do YOUR absolute best, give 100% in every particular situation… Go ahead and plan, even write down what you’d like to accomplish this YEAR, picture yourself in your new life, – but give yourself time to gradually WORK toward it. Don’t blame others for anything, be responsive for your life & mistakes. Be gentle with yourself, with your goals & dreams. I’ll promise you, you’ll be satisfied and eventually you reach whatever you desire. Work hard and be kind. Only look back and see how far you’ve come, and most of all GIVE. – LOVE!

And even if you fail, DON’T EVER GIVE UP. Dust yourself off, and try again. I failed more times in my life than I actually succeeded. My struggles are the pathway that lead me into my success. – In skating (just to give you an example), in order to learn a new element, let’s say a jump … “Triple Toe loop“ you fail/fall more times than you actually succeed. You take the risk, jump, fall,- get back up, jump again – you fall again and again and again and over and over and over again… you’ve been falling a numerous of times and it just hurts so much, you feel like you can’t hold on anymore but with all you’ve got you try again. This time you arrange your angle a bit, you try again and then all of a sudden… BOOOOM, you land that damn thang. For one second all the sweat, the tears, the pain… GONE. It simply is one of the most rewarding feelings ever, because YOU alone worked for it and earned it. YOU earned your success. You worked your way through it!!!!! So remember, FAILURE is part of the game, don’t just quit and give up, every difficulty is growing you. Every painful time even though you don’t like it, it’s developing something in you that can only be developed in the tough times. Pain will change us, it won’t leave us the same. The pain you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. You can come out bitter or you can come out better.

At the end you have two options, giving up on your dreams or you can come out with a new passion, a new fire … YOU CHOOSE! What I always like to say is “Don’t just go through it, GROW through it.“ Develop character to get stronger and get new confidence. You have to push through bad times. Create a life you can be proud of, not for others, but YOURSELF!!! Life is such a beautiful gift, live it, give it all you’ve got and be the best version of yourself. It is never too late to become all that you were created to be!! IF you are reading this, know that you can reach everything in life. Not only because it’s a New Year, bc it’s in YOUR hands.

I’m sending you much LOVE & ENGERY and I wanted to tell you guys how much YOU mean to me. I’m so forever grateful for our community we’ve built. YOUR ongoing support, each and every single day and the love you are giving me, means the world to me. I appreciate every single one of you!

Wishing you a year ahead full of health, love, joy, lots of laughter, strength and courage, to make this New Year your best year yet.

Maya Antić founded ALL AT ONCE in January 2015 as a way to showcase current trends in fresh, inspiring ways. Her love for Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle and her strong appreciation towards all aesthetics she designed this blog to offer style inspiration, lifestyle and travel tips and advice along the way.